


Distinctly Mulder

by mldrgrl



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Introspection, touch of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 20:15:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5469560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mldrgrl/pseuds/mldrgrl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scully muses on Mulder's cologne.  Inspired by a tumblr prompt: scent</p>
            </blockquote>





	Distinctly Mulder

Scully remembered the first time she entered the basement office, one of the first things she noticed, aside from the clutter and the oddities covering the desks and file cabinets and walls, was that for a small, bleak, airless room, it smelled rather pleasant. The closer she got to shaking Mulder’s hand, she realized that he was actually the source of the pleasant aroma. His scent wafted over her, lingered, as he moved past her to his slide projector.  She couldn’t help but breathe deeply.

 

It was Christmastime of 1992 when Scully first tried to identify the brand of cologne that Mulder wore.  She hadn’t seen him since the first and only case they’d worked together, the previous March, but as she made her way through the bustling department store to complete her holiday shopping, she caught a faint whiff of her one time partner and it stopped her in her tracks. She approached the sales clerk at the counter of colognes and asked to be shown some samples.  Dutifully, the well-dressed young man presented her with an array of paper sticks, each of which he sprayed with different bottles of cologne and she held them to her nose.

 

With each sniff, Scully was disappointed. She tried to describe the cologne, but for all her knowledge in chemistry and science, it couldn’t help her put together an accurate representation.  A little sandalwood, maybe.  Something like ginger.  Lime. It was such a distinct smell, yet totally unique.  Much like Mulder himself. Chagrined, she ended up purchasing a small bottle of Old Spice for her father and left the store no closer to an answer, but thinking more about Mulder than she had in a long time.

 

The second time Scully made any kind of attempt to further investigate the choice of Mulder’s cologne was on one of her first visits to his apartment, well before she had a key, but months into their official partnership.  She’d needed to use the bathroom, and did so with no ulterior motive, but only realized the opportunity as she was washing her hands. 

 

With the water still running, she opened his medicine cabinet and let her eyes move over the contents without touching a single thing.  Crest toothpaste, Visine, a half-full bottle of Tums, calamine lotion, aspirin, nail clippers, etcetera, etcetera; all the items that would make up a normal medicine cabinet, but no razor and no cologne.  Puzzled, she closed the cabinet door and then turned off the water. She dried her hands and quickly exited the bathroom lest she give off any suspicion of having been snooping.

 

Many times, while away on a case, Scully tried to catch a glimpse of Mulder’s toiletry bag, but he was a surprisingly neat and economical packer.  He kept his things in unmarked bottles.  She did manage once to find the small squeeze bottle in his bag that contained a few ounces of the smell she so coveted.  Her fingers itched to uncap the bottle, to breathe in the scent of him at her leisure, but she was paranoid that she would spill even a drop.  That even one drop would give her away and she’d be caught. Even though she was enveloped by his scent on a daily basis, she never got to savor it the way she wanted to.

 

By the time Scully and Mulder reached a point in their relationship that she could have just asked him what he wore, perhaps during one of the too few nights spent with her nose against his neck and his fingers in her hair, he was gone.  Instead of trying to find a bottle, she pressed his unwashed shirts to her face and she was glad she didn’t know the name of the cologne, because she’d rather think of it as just Mulder.

 

The End


End file.
